The Portland daily press., 1887-12-24
Novel Plan For ExtermInatlng Rab-
hlfG

M. Pasteur has written to the editor OF the
Paris Temps the following letter;
''Your journal announced a few days ago
that the Government Of New South Wales
was so helpless in its flight with a peculiar
plague-the multiplication Of rabbits-that
1t offered prize Of 625, 900 francs for the dis
covery Of method for exterminating them.
Considerable portions Of New Zealand, not
Jess ravaged than Austria, have been aban-
doned by the farmers. who gave up eep-
raising owing to the impossibillty Of finding
food for them. Every winter the rabbits are
slaughtered by the million, but without any
apparent effect on their numbers.
"Will you permit me 10 communicate to
these distant countries, through the medium
Of the Temps, some ideas the applications Of
wh ch might perhaps be attended by some
success?
up to the present, in combating this
nuisance, use has been made Of mineral sub
stances, notably phosphorus compounds.
But was not this wrong methodY What
can such mineral pOlsons do towards destroy
ing animals, which increase and multiply at
a frightful rate? Such poisons kill on the
spot where they are placed, but, In truth. 10
reach living creatures, do we not need rather
IL may so express myself, poison endowed
Will lie. ike IutNlStiNtSt anu dDtt,
themselves, to multiply at surprising rate?
What wish. therefore, is that an attempt
be made to carry death into the burrows OF
New South Wales and New Zealand by try
ing to communicate TO the rabbits disease
which may become epedemic.
"There Is such one which Is known as
chicken cholera cholera deS pOeteS) and
which has been the subject of extended study
in my laboratory. This disease Is also COM
mon to rabbits. Now among the experiences
/ havQ QafhQrQd iq this / eOllaptpd within n
limited space a certain number Of chickens
and after had given them some food pOis-
oned with the microbe which Is the cause Of
chicken cholera, they died on the spot.
"Farmyards sometimes ravaged by true
epedemies OF this species, the propagation OF
which is doubtless due to the injecting Of the
soil and food by the excrements Of those
which are first seized with the disease. 1
fancy that the same would happen in the
case Of rabbits, and that. returning to their
burrows to die there, they would communi-
cate 1.-THE disease to others, which In turn
would spread IL. But how could the destruc-
tive germs be conveyed into the bodies Of the
first rabbits? Nothing Is easier. | Teuld
make an enclosure including certain space
where the rabbits look for food. Experience
has shown that II Is easy TO cultivate in a
state of perfect purity, and on as large a
scale as Is desired, the microbes, Of chicken
cholera In some extract Of meat. With this
liquid, full OF microbes, the food Of the rab-
bits should be watered. and they would scat
ter TO die In various places and thus distrib-
ute the poison everywhere
Il viii add that the micrObe Of the disease
In question Is harmless TO farm animals, ex-
cept. ot, course, TO chickens but these need
not be allowed to be at large.
Il do not doubt that there are In the
plague-stricken countries persons prepared
TO apply the method suggested mere, meth
cd which Is very simple, ana Whlch, IN any
case Is worthy OF trial"